Kennett: Serena Williams' behavior disgraceful

John Kennettof the Daily Newsjkennett@mdn.net

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Sunday, September 13, 2009

After getting home from work Saturday night, I sat down in front of the television hoping to catch the end of a football game or part of a U.S. Open tennis match. Turning on the U.S. Open, I witnessed an incident so ugly that I still haven't decided how I feel.

On the tube was a semifinal match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters for a spot in the women's championship match on Sunday. Clijsters was up a set and led 6-5 in the second set with Williams serving. At 15-30, Williams missed her first serve and landed her second serve inbounds. However, the line judge covering the baseline called a foot fault on Williams (meaning she stepped across the baseline), making the score 15-40 and giving Clijsters double match point.

Instead of serving the next point, Williams turned toward the lineswoman and began yelling profanities while shaking her racket and tennis ball.

The Associated Press reported that the No. 3-seeded Williams said to the lineswoman, "If I could, I would take this #@& ball and shove it down your #@& throat."

At that point, the lineswoman conferred with the umpire, who called for tournament referee Brian Earley. After a brief discussion, the ruling was a code violation against Williams. Unfortunately, it was not the first time in the match that Williams had given in to her temper. After losing the first set, she broke her racket on the net post, invoking her first code violation.

According to tennis rules, a second code violation results in the loss of a point, which handed Clijsters the final point she needed to win the match.

Who knows why Williams blew a fuse? Maybe the many weather delays bothered her, or the pressure of maintaining her impressive play. Prior to the U.S. Open, Williams had won three of the previous four Grand Slam titles and 30 of her previous 31 matches at the major tournaments.

The fact is, she lost her cool and verbally abused the lineswoman, who had the best view in the stadium of the foot fault.

What concerned me most about this situation was the lack of remorse on Williams' part after the incident. The TV cameras showed her peeking out of the locker room smiling as if to say, "It's no big deal. This is all a big joke."

Even at her post-match press conference, the unrepentant Williams said of the penalty, "No, I didn't think I would get a point penalty. … I said something that I guess they gave me a point penalty. Unfortunately it was on match point."

Williams received a $10,500 fine Sunday for her two code violations, which is a small fraction of the $350,000 she earned as a semifinalist. That is a decisive and great start, but there needs to be more.

Williams should issue a public apology to the lineswoman for her outburst. Since the incident occurred in public before 20,000 fans and millions watching on television, then the apology should happen in the same venue.

A quick apology goes a long way toward restoring relationships and defusing conflict.

Had the same profanity-laced tirade happened in another arena, such as the workplace between employer and employee, or between spouses in the home, there might be some serious consequences.

Plus, any penalty should include a suspension from the next Grand Slam tournament, the 2010 Australian Open. A suspension less than a Grand Slam will have no teeth. After all, Williams measures her career by how she performs at the four majors.

Williams' tirade stood in stark contrast to the superb accomplishments of Clijsters, who in only her third tournament after 2 1/2 years in retirement due to the birth of her daughter, went on to win the U.S. Open on Sunday.

One other telling sign from Williams' Saturday night press conference was her mention of John McEnroe as one of her heroes while growing up. McEnroe just happens to be the last player to have been disqualified from a Grand Slam tournament, when he got an early exit from the 1990 Australian Open for abusive language toward officials.